A long life at Donaldson

Community is a constant in Kathryn Chandler's life

Community is a constant in Kathryn Chandler's life

June 20, 2006|IDA CHIPMAN Tribune Correspondent

First of two parts DONALDSON -- Kathryn Chandler has spent every summer of her life on her family's farm near Donaldson. Ninety years old on May 14, she is one of Donaldson's oldest residents. The third of six generations to enjoy the locale, she has lived year-round for the past 27 years on Union Road in a 105-year-old home -- one of the oldest in West Township. "Growing old in Marshall County has been a wonderful experience for mother," her son, John J. Chandler, Chicago, said. "She has experienced life on a farm, enjoyed the change of seasons and made lifelong friends in Marshall County. It has been the best of both worlds." Kathryn loves to read and look at pictures, despite a debilitating stroke that has left her unable to speak. Fiercely independent, she comprehends everything. Her bright blue eyes speak volumes even when her lips will do not. Born into a strong German enclave in Chicago in 1916, Kathryn Victoria was the only child of John and Marie (Mey) Weccard. She was only a year old when she was sent to her grandparents' farm in Donaldson to live for an entire year to escape the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919. Her grandparents, Victor and Clara Mey, had emigrated from Germany in 1883. They lived in Chicago but, as was the custom for urban Germans to have a place in the country, they would spend several weeks in the summer with other German families at the Lake Gilbraith resort now known as Convent Ancilla Domini. Marshall County reminded Victor of his native village in Germany. His friend, Philip Henrici, owned a large restaurant chain in Chicago. He had an uppity wife who hated Indiana and despised going out to the countryside. In 1901, Henrici finally got fed up with his wife's complaining. When Victor made an offer to buy his 640-acre farm, he sold. A gentleman farmer, Victor grew grain and hops for the Berghoff Brewery in Fort Wayne. Every summer, granddaughter Kathryn came to visit. She helped the hired family with chores and played hostess to the extended families who would visit "The Farm" on weekends. Among those visitors were the Oscar Mayers, the Berhoffs and the Glunzes. She learned horseback riding and became an accomplished equestrian in Chicago and Marshall County. When she was 6, her grandfather taught her how to drive a horse and buggy. Kathryn became his designated driver. It was during Prohibition, and Victor would often visit his friend Kasper Kohlbecker who lived down the road. The two men would sit on the porch, reminisce about their fatherland, and drink home-made wine or beer. When she'd come down from Chicago -- against all rules of the Pennsylvania railroad -- she would pack her toy collie, Prince, in a picnic basket. When the train stopped in Donaldson, the conductor would look the other way when she -- and her furry passenger -- got off. The summer when she was 12, she was the only family member who learned how to drive their 1928 Packard automobile. A chauffeur usually did the honors. "You didn't need a license back then," John said. Kathryn would pick up her friends in Plymouth and she would drive to the Philadelphia Ice Cream Shoppe in South Bend for their nickel ice cream specials. Her best friend was Virginia Soice, who later married Harvey Phillips, a longtime Marshall County sheriff. Lowell Peterson, son of the Plymouth postmaster, was also a friend and one whose path she crossed years later when he was a medical doctor practicing in Chicago. Kathryn graduated from Mercy High School in 1934, the same year her family built the former Divine Heart College and Seminary on part of the farm property. She went to work in her father's business, the American Detective Service with offices in Chicago and New York City. That's how Kathryn became a private eye.